The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
Julia walks along the stunning Mawddach estuary in north Wales. The area between Dolgellau and the coastal resort of Barmouth is one of the least visited parts of Snowdonia, but in the 1860s it received a great rush of holidaymakers, taking advantage of the new railway that connected the valley to the cities of England.
Suzannah Lipscomb takes us back to the late Victorian era when cities were expanding and mass consumerism took hold. But from the food they ate to the clothes they wore and the new products that thrilled them, the Victorians were surrounding themselves with killers. What made taking a bath and drinking milk potentially so dangerous? And how did the Victorian woman turn herself into a walking fire hazard?
The domestic horrors of home life in the 19th century and the terrible consequences are laid bare, revealing how the Victorian ideal of 'safe as houses' was far from the reality.
Having previously investigated the architecture of Hitler and Stalin's regimes, Jonathan Meades turns his attention to another notorious 20th-century European dictator, Mussolini.
His travels take him to Rome, Milan, Genoa, the new town of Sabaudia and the vast military memorials of Redipuglia and Monte Grappa.
When it comes to the buildings of the fascist era, Meades discovers a dictator who couldn't dictate, with Mussolini caught between the contending forces of modernism and a revivalism that harked back to ancient Rome. The result was a variety of styles that still influence architecture today.
Along the way, Meades ponders on the nature of fascism, the influence of the Futurists, and Mussolini's love of a fancy uniform.
Andrew Marr discovers the untold story of Winston Churchill's lifelong love for painting and reveals the surprising ways in which his private hobby helped shape his public career as politician and statesman, even playing an unexpected part in his role as wartime leader.
Marr is himself a committed amateur painter and art has played an important role in his recovery from a serious stroke in 2013. His fascination with the healing powers of art fuels a journey that opens a new perspective on one of Britain's most famous men.
Andrew travels to the south of France and Marrakech, where Churchill loved to paint, and discovers how his serious approach to the craft of painting led to friendships with major British artists of the 20th century. He finds out how a single painting in the 1940s may have influenced the course of the Second World War, and meets Churchill's descendants to discover what his family felt about a private hobby that helped keep him sane through his wilderness years. And he discovers how, 50 years after Churchill's death, his art is being taken more seriously than ever before, with one painting being sold for almost £2 million in 2014.
A celebration of the life and legacy of Echo, the world's most famous elephant, who was born in 1945 and died in 2009, and who Natural World followed for the last 20 years of her life.
The timing of Echo's death could not be worse. The wise old matriarch had guided her family for half a century, but the cruellest drought in living memory devastated her home under the shadow of Kilimanjaro. Will her 38-strong band of relatives and descendants overcome the loss of their leader, hunger and poachers to survive?
The heart is the most symbolic organ of the human body. Throughout history it has been seen as the site of our emotions, the very centre of our being. But modern medicine has come to see the heart as just a pump; a brilliant pump, but nothing more. And we see ourselves as ruled by our heads and not our hearts.
In this documentary, filmmaker David Malone asks whether we are right to take this view. He explores the heart's conflicting histories as an emotional symbol and a physical organ, and investigates what the latest science is learning about its structures, its capacities and its role. In the age-old battle of hearts and minds, will these new discoveries alter the balance and allow the heart to reclaim something of its traditional place at the centre of our humanity?
THURSDAY 02 JUNE 2016
THU 19:00 World News Today (b07d7gh1)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b07d7sdm)
Steve Wright presents the pop chart show, first broadcast on 19 November 1981. Includes appearances by Modern Romance, The Pretenders, Fun Boy Three, ABC, Trevor Walters, Julio Iglesias, Diana Ross, Soft Cell and Zoo.
THU 20:00 A Timewatch Guide (b06z59g7)
Series 2
Stonehenge
Using 70 years of BBC history archive film, Professor Alice Roberts uncovers how the iconic ancient monument of Stonehenge has been interpreted, argued over and debated by some of Britain's leading historians and archaeologists. She reveals how new discoveries would discredit old theories, how astronomers and geologists became involved in the story and why, even after centuries of study, there's still no definitive answer to the mystery of Stonehenge.
THU 21:00 Dan Cruickshank: At Home with the British (b07d7sdp)
The Flat
If modern Britain lives in a terrace house and loves a cottage, it cannot make its mind up about the high-rise flat. Is the skyscraper a blot on the landscape, or the answer to the national housing crisis?
For Dan Cruickshank, the idea of living high above the city streets really is the future once again. 21st-century London is the site of an extraordinary building boom. Hundreds of residential high-rise towers are being built at record speed, many hugely controversial, as private developers cotton on to what social housing idealists realised 60 years ago.
Dan is in Bow in east London, charting the extraordinary history of one estate - the Lincoln. Designed in 1960 for the London County Council by a young idealistic architect, the 19-storey Lincoln was once the tallest residential building in London. Inside every flat were the latest space-age gadgets - a lift, a shower and a fitted kitchen. But the dream turned sour. The Lincoln became notorious for drugs and violence. There was even a brutal murder. It was the same all over Britain - the flat was a byword for deprivation and social exclusion. But then, just as everything looked lost, the Lincoln was saved and with, perhaps, the hopes of an entire generation for that most precious of things - a home. For Dan, as perhaps for Britain, 'the only way is up'.
THU 22:00 Going Forward (b07d7sdr)
Episode 3
One family, three days, countless events. Welcome to the Wilde family, Kim, Dave, sister Jackie, kids, dog (Carpet), and their ailing mum. Kim and Dave are the sandwich generation couple who've put their lives on hold for the sake of others. She's a care worker, he drives limos, they live outside London and life is all right, I suppose. Until Auntie Jackie has an idea.
Son Ryan's decision to return home to save cash looks premature, as the family's fortunes pick up following more grim news from the hospital. Money worries lifted, Kim and Dave's new freedom is somewhat undermined by developments at work, which see Dave engaged in a unique dirty protest and Kim taking on the Buccaneer 2000 empire.
A face from the past and talk of a spin class do little to calm things down, as a patient provides an unwelcome farewell gift to send Kim on her way to an uncertain future.
Back home, Ryan's half-baked chicken alaska sets the scene for a showdown as Kim and Jackie's long-brewing collision course finally ends in fireworks. Insults traded, it's back to dirty nappies, dog sick and the much-discussed job in Iraq.
THU 22:30 A Very British Airline (b046sby4)
Episode 2
For many years London to New York has been the most glamorous and profitable route in BA's long-haul network. This was the route made famous by Concorde, and even today BA's JFK terminal caters for more of the rich and famous than anywhere else.
This looks at the heart of BA's New York operations to discover what it takes to keep the 28 flights a day running smoothly on this all-important route, even as the worst winter on record causes cancellations and delays.
At the other extreme, BA is opening a new route to the Chinese city of Chengdu. China is a key new market, but BA is well behind its rivals and having to learn fast how to cope with the unique challenges of operating in mainland China.
Back at Heathrow, the cabin crew trainees reach the moment of truth. Will they all make it through the course or will some of them learn the hard way that they aren't quite what BA considers the right stuff?
THU 23:30 Francesco's Venice (b0078ssj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
THU 00:30 Top of the Pops (b07d7sdm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 01:05 Pop Charts Britannia: 60 Years of the Top 10 (b01nwfxs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:40 on Saturday]
THU 02:35 Dan Cruickshank: At Home with the British (b07d7sdp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRIDAY 03 JUNE 2016
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b07d7gh6)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (b07dxty1)
Mike Read presents the pop chart show, first broadcast on 26 November 1981. Includes appearances by Kim Wilde, Jets, Toyah, Kool & The Gang, Earth Wind & Fire, Cliff Richard, Ultravox, and Queen & David Bowie.
FRI 20:00 The Good Old Days (b07d7t0g)
Leonard Sachs presents an edition of the old-time music hall programme, filmed in 1974 from the stage of the City Varieties Theatre, Leeds. Guests include Roy Castle, Jean Bayless, Peter Wallis, Los Aguenitos and members of the Players Theatre.
FRI 20:45 Sounds of the Sixties (b008pfhf)
Reversions
1964-6 The Beat Room
Featuring vintage performances from Tom Jones, the Kinks and the Moody Blues.
FRI 20:55 Pop Go the Sixties (b00cw0pf)
Series 2
Procol Harum
A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum was one of the 1960s' most popular and most-played songs. It's performed here by the group who first recorded it, on Top of the Pops in 1967.
FRI 21:00 UK's Best Part-Time Band (b07d9tr5)
Nations
Comedian Rhod Gilbert and Ultravox frontman Midge Ure set off on an epic road trip across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales to discover the UK's best part-time band.
From across the UK, more than 1,200 bands have entered the competition, playing rock to reggae, ska to skiffle, bhangra to blues and everything in between. Leading double lives, by day they might be doctors, window cleaners or waiters, but at night they shed their work clothes, pick up a guitar and channel their inner rock god. What binds them all? An incredible passion for music and an escape from the nine-to-five grind.
This is no ordinary talent show - this is a rock 'n' roll documentary following Rhod and Midge on tour, visiting bands playing in rehearsal spaces, pubs, barns and bedrooms.
At the end of the road trip, five acts are selected for a regional heat in Belfast, where they compete for a place in the grand final.
FRI 22:00 The Highwaymen: Friends Till the End (b07dnvdt)
Frequently referred to as 'the Mount Rushmore of country music, The Highwaymen - Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson - were American country music's first bona-fide supergroup. Between 1985 and 1995, when times were hard for country legends as country radio chased youth and the pop market, these four icons banded together, made three albums, and toured the world performing their greatest songs and the ones they'd recorded together while extending their mutual admiration for one another.
The film explores those years and the work they recorded together and features vintage performances, rare behind-the-scenes footage of life on the road and in the studio with producer Don Was, and new interviews with Nelson, Kristofferson, family members Jessi Colter (country singer and Jennings's wife), Annie Nelson, Lisa Kristofferson and John Carter Cash, band members Reggie Young (guitarist) of The Memphis Boys, Mickey Raphael (harmonica player) and Robby Turner (pedal steel guitarist) and managers Mark Rothbaum and Lou Robin.
The film examines how their towering individual personas and mutual friendships meshed to form the group's collective artistry, their success buttressed by the love and support they gave to each other.
FRI 22:55 The Highwaymen Live (b07dpspl)
A previously unreleased full-length concert film of country music's first bona-fide supergroup - Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson - recorded live at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York, on 14 March 1990. Featuring many of the classics they recorded together and the greatest songs they recorded in their solo careers, including Highwayman, Sunday Morning Coming Down, Folsom Prison Blues, Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys, Always On My Mind, Me and Bobby McGee, Desperados Waiting for a Train, Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way, Silver Stallion and many more.
FRI 00:55 Top of the Pops (b07dxty1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
FRI 01:30 UK's Best Part-Time Band (b07d9tr5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 02:35 The Highwaymen: Friends Till the End (b07dnvdt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
A Timewatch Guide
20:00 THU (b06z59g7)
A Very British Airline
22:30 THU (b046sby4)
Andrew Marr on Churchill: Blood, Sweat and Oil Paint
22:30 WED (b06714yz)
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend
22:40 SAT (b07dk8j5)
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend
21:00 SUN (b07dpv33)
Ballrooms and Ballerinas: Dance at the BBC
20:00 SUN (b06sg7zj)
Ballrooms and Ballerinas: Dance at the BBC
03:00 SUN (b06sg7zj)
Ben Building: Mussolini, Monuments and Modernism
21:00 WED (b07d7nj9)
Ben Building: Mussolini, Monuments and Modernism
02:30 WED (b07d7nj9)
Biggest Band Break Ups and Make Ups
22:00 SUN (b05q472d)
Biggest Band Break Ups and Make Ups
00:15 MON (b05q472d)
Bullets, Boots and Bandages: How to Really Win at War
01:15 MON (b01c301b)
Catch Me if You Can
22:00 MON (b0074g3y)
Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons Side by Side: The Interview
23:00 SUN (b07dpfmg)
Dan Cruickshank: At Home with the British
20:00 MON (b07ckwvx)
Dan Cruickshank: At Home with the British
21:00 THU (b07d7sdp)
Dan Cruickshank: At Home with the British
02:35 THU (b07d7sdp)
Francesco's Venice
19:00 SAT (b0078ssj)
Francesco's Venice
23:30 THU (b0078ssj)
Going Forward
22:00 THU (b07d7sdr)
Going Going Gone: Nick Broomfield's Disappearing Britain
02:00 SUN (b07chym0)
Heart vs Mind: What Makes Us Human?
00:30 WED (b01kpvj1)
Hidden Killers
20:00 SAT (b07chyly)
Hidden Killers
20:00 WED (b03l7nl8)
Ian Hislop Goes off the Rails
00:00 TUE (b00drtpj)
Mozart Uncovered
19:45 SUN (b07dwrgr)
Natural World
23:00 TUE (b00xxf9f)
Natural World
23:30 WED (b00tcf7z)
Playing Beethoven's Fifth
19:00 SUN (b07dprl0)
Pop Charts Britannia: 60 Years of the Top 10
23:40 SAT (b01nwfxs)
Pop Charts Britannia: 60 Years of the Top 10
01:05 THU (b01nwfxs)
Pop Go the Sixties
20:55 FRI (b00cw0pf)
Pugin: God's Own Architect
02:00 TUE (b01b1z45)
Railway Walks with Julia Bradbury
19:30 TUE (b00dtp4b)
Railway Walks with Julia Bradbury
19:30 WED (b00dwflf)
Revolution and Romance: Musical Masters of the 19th Century
21:00 TUE (b07d9rwv)
Revolution and Romance: Musical Masters of the 19th Century
03:00 TUE (b07d9rwv)
Seven Ages of Britain
22:00 TUE (b00qn322)
Seven Ages of Britain
01:30 WED (b00qn322)
Sounds of the Eighties
03:25 SAT (b0074sjk)
Sounds of the Sixties
20:45 FRI (b008pfhf)
Storm Troupers: The Fight to Forecast the Weather
21:00 MON (b07d7mqg)
Storm Troupers: The Fight to Forecast the Weather
02:45 MON (b07d7mqg)
Storm Troupers: The Fight to Forecast the Weather
20:00 TUE (b07d7mqg)
Tales from the Tour Bus: Rock 'n' Roll on the Road
01:10 SAT (b05rjc9c)
The Art of Gothic: Britain's Midnight Hour
01:00 TUE (b04mgxxx)
The Brecon Beacons with Iolo Williams
19:30 MON (b06ynxk8)
The Brecon Beacons with Iolo Williams
02:15 MON (b06ynxk8)
The Disappearance
21:00 SAT (b05rd3lm)
The Disappearance
21:55 SAT (b05rd3lp)
The Good Old Days
20:00 FRI (b07d7t0g)
The Highwaymen Live
22:55 FRI (b07dpspl)
The Highwaymen: Friends Till the End
22:00 FRI (b07dnvdt)
The Highwaymen: Friends Till the End
02:35 FRI (b07dnvdt)
The Last Journey of the Magna Carta King
23:30 SUN (b052hrdd)
Top of the Pops
02:10 SAT (b07ckwvv)
Top of the Pops
02:45 SAT (b07cl0cn)
Top of the Pops
19:30 THU (b07d7sdm)
Top of the Pops
00:30 THU (b07d7sdm)
Top of the Pops
19:30 FRI (b07dxty1)
Top of the Pops
00:55 FRI (b07dxty1)
UK's Best Part-Time Band
21:00 FRI (b07d9tr5)
UK's Best Part-Time Band
01:30 FRI (b07d9tr5)
World News Today
19:00 MON (b07d7gg2)
World News Today
19:00 TUE (b07d7ggh)
World News Today
19:00 WED (b07d7ggv)
World News Today
19:00 THU (b07d7gh1)
World News Today
19:00 FRI (b07d7gh6)
World War II: 1945 and the Wheelchair President
00:30 SUN (b05vlzsn)